Everything about the new gear and the new truck is meant to make firefighters' jobs easier, and faster, therefore making them able to respond better to an emergency in the community.

Funds are also going towards things like ladders that are now stored inside the truck to prevent dirt, grime and wear and tear, and individual places for tools make it easier for crews to access the life saving equipment.

But the biggest change is yet to come. The Lake Saint Louis Fire Protection District will build a new firehouse on Lake Saint Louis Boulevard, consolidating their two houses into one.

“It’ll actually give us better response time from the whole district, from that one location we'll be able to respond to everybody in five minutes,” explained Chief Gussner.

Consolidating the fire houses will allow them to man the department 24/7, something they weren’t able to do before. They are in the design phase now and plan to put it out to bid in the next four to six weeks with hopeful completion by the end of 2018.